Apparatus and method for managing operations of accessories

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computing device having a controller to present a plurality of associable actions and a plurality of accessories of distinct operational types, associate an action with an input function of a select one of the plurality of accessories, monitor the selected accessory for a stimulation of the input function, and transmit the action to an operating system to launch a first software application or to convey to a second software application the action or an aspect of the action. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/196,717 filed Mar. 4, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/499,670 filed Jul. 8, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,719,714) by Aronzon et al., entitled “Apparatus and Method forManaging Operations of Accessories.” All sections of the aforementionedapplications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to accessory managementapplications, and more specifically to an apparatus and method formanaging operations of accessories.

BACKGROUND

It is common today for gamers to utilize more than one gaming accessory.This is especially true of gamers who play Massively Multiplayer On-line(MMO) games in a team or individual configuration. Gamers can have attheir disposal accessories such as a keyboard, a general purpose gamingpad, a mouse, a gaming console controller, a headset with a built-inmicrophone to communicate with other players, a joystick, a computerdisplay, or other common gaming accessories.

A gamer can frequently use a combination of these accessories in onegame (e.g., headset, a keyboard, and mouse). Efficient management andutilization of these accessories can frequently impact a gamer's abilityto compete.

Accessory management can have utility in other disciplines which may notrelate to gaming applications. Efficient use of accessories in theseother disciplines can be important to users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 depict illustrative embodiments of a Graphical User Interface(GUI) generated by an Accessory Management Software (AMS) applicationaccording to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4-6 depict illustrative methods describing the operation of theAMS application; and

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative diagrammatic representation of a machinein the form of a computer system within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the present disclosure entails a computer-readablestorage medium having computer instructions to present in a graphicaluser interface a plurality of associable actions and a plurality ofaccessories of distinct operational types, associate one of theplurality of associable actions with an input function of a select oneof the plurality of accessories, record the association of the actionand the input function, detect a stimulation of the input function whilemonitoring the selected accessory in use, retrieve the action associatedwith the input function, and transmit the action to an operating system.The plurality of accessories can be for navigating in or controlling asoftware application operable in a computer system or a gaming console.

One embodiment of the present disclosure entails presenting in agraphical user interface a plurality of associable actions and aplurality of accessories of distinct operational types, receiving arequest to associate one of the plurality of associable actions with aninput function of a select one of the plurality of accessories,associating the action with the input function, monitoring the selectedaccessory for a stimulation of the input function, and transmitting theaction to an operating system responsive to detecting the stimulation ofthe input function.

One embodiment of the present disclosure entails a computing devicehaving a controller to present a plurality of associable actions and aplurality of accessories of distinct operational types, associate anaction with an input function of a select one of the plurality ofaccessories, monitor the selected accessory for a stimulation of theinput function, and transmit the action to an operating system to launcha first software application or to convey to a second softwareapplication the action or an aspect of the action.

FIGS. 1-3 depict illustrative embodiments of a Graphical User Interface(GUI) generated by an Accessory Management Software (AMS) applicationaccording to the present disclosure. The AMS application can operate ina computing device such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, aserver, a mainframe computer, or a gaming console. A gaming console canrepresent a gaming device such as a Playstation 3™, a Wii™, or anXbox360™. Other present and next generation gaming consoles arecontemplated. The AMS application can also operate in other computingdevices with less computing resources such as a cellular phone, apersonal digital assistant, or a media player (such as an iPOD™). Fromthese illustrations it would be apparent to an artisan with ordinaryskill in the art that the AMS application can operate in any device withcomputing resources.

FIGS. 4-6 depict illustrative methods 400-600 describing the operationof the AMS application as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Method 400 can begin withstep 402 in which the AMS application is invoked in a computing device.The invocation step can result from a user selection of the AMSapplication from a menu or iconic symbol presented on a desktop of thecomputing device by an operating system (OS) managing operationsthereof. In step 404, the AMS application can detect by way of driversin the OS a plurality of operationally distinct accessoriescommunicatively coupled to the computing device. The accessories can becoupled to the computing device by a tethered interface (e.g., USBcable), a wireless interface (e.g., Bluetooth or WirelessFidelity—WiFi), or combinations thereof.

In the present context, an accessory can represent any type of devicewhich can be communicatively coupled to the computing device and whichcan control aspects of the OS and/or a software application operating inthe computing device. An accessory can represent for example a keyboard,a gaming pad, a mouse, a gaming console controller, a joystick, amicrophone, or a headset with a microphone—just to mention a few. Thekeyboard and gaming pad represent accessories of a similar categorysince their operational parameters are alike.

A mouse, on the other hand, represents an accessory having disparateoperational parameters from the keyboard or gaming pad. For instance,the operational parameters of a keyboard generally consist ofalphanumeric keys, control keys (e.g., Shift, Alt, Ctrl), and functionkeys while the operational parameters of a mouse consist of navigationdata generated by a tracking device such as a laser sensor, buttons toinvoke GUI selections, and settings thereof (e.g., counts or dots perinch, acceleration, scroll speed, jitter control, line straighteningcontrol, and so on). Such distinctions can be used to identify disparatecategories of accessories. The joysticks, game controllers or any otherinput devices represent additional categories of accessories supportedby the AMS.

In step 406, the AMS application presents a GUI 101 such as depicted inFIG. 1 with operationally distinct accessories such as the keyboard 108and mouse 110. The GUI 101 presents the accessories 108-116 in ascrollable section 117. One or more accessories can be selected by auser with a common mouse pointer. In this illustration, the keyboard 108and mouse 110 were selected with a mouse pointer for customization. Uponselecting the keyboard 108 and mouse 110 in section 117, the AMSapplication presents the keyboard 108 and mouse 110 in split windows118, 120, respectively, to help the user during the customizationprocess.

In step 408, the AMS application can be programmed to detect auser-selection of a particular software application such as a game. Thisstep can be the result of the user entering in a Quick Search field 160the name of a gaming application (e.g., World of Warcraft™). Uponidentifying a gaming application, the AMS application can retrieve instep 410 from a remote or local database gaming application actionswhich can be presented in a scrollable section 139 of the GUIrepresented as “Actions” 130. The actions can be tactical actions 132,communication actions 134, menu actions 136, and movement actions 138,or any other types of actions, which can be used to invoke and managefeatures of the gaming application.

The actions presented descriptively in section 130 of the GUI canrepresent a sequence of accessory input functions which a user canstimulate by button depressions, navigation or speech. For example,depressing the left button on the mouse 110 can represent the tacticalaction “Reload”, while the simultaneous keyboard depressions “Ctrl A”can represent the tactical action “Melee Attack”. For ease of use, the“Actions” 130 section of the GUI is presented descriptively rather thanby a description of the input function(s) of a particular accessory.

Any one of the Actions 130 can be associated with one or more inputfunctions of the accessories by way of a simple drag and drop action.For instance, a user can select a “Melee Attack” by placing a mousepointer 133 over an iconic symbol associated with this action. Upondoing so, the symbol can be highlighted to indicate to the user that theicon is selectable. At this point, the user can select the icon byholding the left mouse button and drag the symbol to any of the inputfunctions (e.g., buttons) of the keyboard 108 or mouse 110 to make anassociation with an input function of one of these accessories.

For example, the user can drag the Melee Attack symbol to the rightmouse button thereby causing an association between the selection of theright mouse button and the gaming action of a Melee Attack. When theright button of the mouse 110 is selected during normal operation, theAMS application can detect the selection as a “trigger” to generate thekey sequence “Ctrl A” which is understood by the gaming application asrequest for a Melee Attack. The gaming application receives from the AMSapplication by way of an operating system the “Ctrl A” sequence as if ithad been generated by a Qwerty keyboard.

With this in mind, attention is directed to step 412 where the AMSapplication can respond to a user selection of a profile. A profile canbe a device profile or master profile invoked by selecting GUI button156 or 158, each of which can identify the association of actions withinput functions of one or more accessories. If a profile selection isdetected in step 412, the AMS application can retrieve macro(s) and/orprior associations of actions with the accessories as defined by theprofile. The actions and/or macros defined in the profile can also bepresented in step 416 by the AMS application in the actions column 130of the GUI 101 to modify or create new associations.

In step 418, the AMS application can also respond to a user selection tocreate a macro. A macro in the present context can represent a subset ofactions that can be presented in the Actions column 130. Any commandwhich can be recorded by the AMS application can be used to define amacro. An command can represent a sequence of input functions of anaccessory, identification of a software application to be initiated byan operating system (OS), or any other recordable stimulus to initiate,control or manipulate software applications. For instance, a macro canrepresent a user entering the identity of a software application (e.g.,instant messaging tool) to be initiated by an OS. A macro can alsorepresent recordable speech delivered by a microphone singly or incombination with a headset for detection by another software applicationthrough speech recognition or for delivery of the recorded speech toother parties. In yet another embodiment a macro can representrecordable navigation of an accessory such as a mouse or joystick,recordable selections of buttons on a keyboard, a mouse, or a mouse pad,and so on. Macros can also be combinations of the above illustrations.Macros can be created from the GUI 101 by selecting a “Record Macro”button 148. The macro can be given a name and category in user-definedfields 140 and 142.

Upon selecting the Record Macro button 148, a macro can be generated byselection of input functions on an accessory (e.g., Ctrl A, speech,etc.) and/or by manual entry in field 144 (e.g., typing the name andlocation of a software application to be initiated by an OS). Once themacro is created, it can be tested by selecting button 150 which canrepeat the sequence specified in field 144. The clone button 152 can beselected to replicate the macro sequence if desired. Fields 152 can alsopresent timing characteristics of the stimulation sequence in the macrowith the ability to customize such timing. Once the macro has been fullydefined, selection of button 154 records the macro in step 420. Therecording step can be combined with a step for adding the macro to theassociable items Actions column 130, thereby providing the user themeans to associate the macro with input functions of the accessories.

In step 422, the AMS application can respond to drag and dropassociations between actions and input functions of the keyboard 108 andthe mouse 110. If an association is detected, the AMS application canproceed to step 424 where it can determine if a profile has beenidentified in step 412 to record the association(s) detected. If aprofile has been identified, the associations are recorded in saidprofile in step 426. If a profile was not been identified in step 412,the AMS application can create a profile in step 428 for recording thedetected associations. In the same step, the user can name the newlycreated profile as desired. The newly created profile can also beassociated with one or more software applications in step 430 for futurereference.

The GUI 101 presented by the AMS application can have other functions.For example, the GUI 101 can provide options for layout of the accessoryselected (button 122), how the keyboard is illuminated when associationsbetween input functions and actions are made (button 134), andconfiguration options for the accessory (button 126). Configurationoptions can include operational settings of the mouse 110 such as DotsPer Inch or Counts Per Inch, and so on. The AMS application can adaptthe GUI 101 to present more than one functional perspective. Forinstance, by selecting button 102, the AMS application can adapt the GUI101 to present a means to create macros and associate actions toaccessory input functions as depicted in FIG. 1. Selecting button 104can cause the AMS application to adapt the GUI 101 to present statisticsin relation to the usage of accessories as depicted in FIGS. 2-3.Selecting button 106 can cause the AMS application to adapt the GUI 101to present promotional offers and software updates.

It should be noted that the steps of method 400 in whole or in part canbe repeated until a desirable pattern of associations of actions toinput functions of the selected accessories has been accomplished. Itwould be apparent to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art thatthere can be numerous other approaches to accomplish similar results.These undisclosed approaches are contemplated by the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a method 500 in which the AMS application can beprogrammed to recognize unknown accessories so that method 400 can beapplied to them as well. Method 500 can begin with step 502 in which theAMS application detects an unknown accessory such as a new keyboard froman unknown vendor by way of a communicative coupling to a computingdevice from which the AMS application operates. The AMS application inthis instance can receive an identity from the keyboard or the operatingsystem which is not known the AMS application. Upon detecting an unknownaccessory, the AMS application in step 504 can present a depiction of anaccessory of similar or same category in response to a user providingdirection as to the type of accessory (by selecting for example adrop-down menu). Alternatively, or in combination with the userinstructions, the AMS application can determine from the informationreceived from the unknown accessory an accessory type.

In step 506 the AMS application can receive instructions describing allor a portion of the input functions of the unknown accessory. Theseinstructions can come from a user who defines each input functionindividually or responds to inquiries provided by the AMS application.The AMS application can for example make an assumption as to thekeyboard layout and highlight each key with a proposed function whichthe user can verify or modify. Once the AMS application has beenprovided instructions in step 506, the AMS application can create anaccessory identity in step 508 which can be defined by the user. Insteps 510 and 512, the AMS application can associate and record theaccessory instructions with the identity for future recognition of theaccessory. In step 514, the AMS application can present a depiction ofthe new accessory with its identity along with the other selectableaccessories in section 117.

Method 500 can provide a means for universal detection andidentification of any accessory which can be used to control or managesoftware applications operating in a computing device.

FIG. 6 depicts a method 600 for illustrating the AMS applicationresponding to input function stimuli (triggers) of accessories. Method600 can begin with step 602 in which the AMS application monitors theuse of accessories. This step can represent monitoring the stimulationof input functions of one or more accessories communicatively coupled toa computing device from which the AMS application operates. The inputfunctions can correspond to button depressions on a keyboard, gamingpad, or navigation device such as a mouse. The input functions can alsorepresent navigation instructions such as mouse or joystick movements.The input functions can further represent speech supplied by amicrophone singly or in combination with a headset. Other existing orfuture input functions of an accessory detectable by the AMS applicationare contemplated by the present disclosure. The AMS application canmonitor input functions by for example processing human interface device(HID) reports supplied by the accessories to the computing device.

Once one or more stimulations have been detected in step 604, the AMSapplication can proceed to step 606 to determine if action(s) have beenassociated with the detected stimulation(s). If for example thestimulations detected correspond to keyboard and mouse buttondepressions, the AMS application can determine if actions have beenassociated and recorded for such stimulations. If these stimulations“trigger” one or more actions, the AMS application can proceed to step608 where it retrieves the stimulation definition of these actions foreach accessory reporting a stimulation. In step 610, the AMS applicationcan substitute the detected stimulations with the stimulations definedby the action.

To illustrate this substitution, suppose for example that the detectedstimulation was “Ctrl A” simultaneously depressed on a keyboard. Supposefurther that an action associated with this stimulus consists of a macrothat combines mouse clicks with a navigation of the mouse (e.g., movingthe mouse quickly in a forward motion for a given distance), and arequest to invoke an instant messaging (IM) session with a particularindividual using Skype™ or some other common IM tool. In step 610, theAMS application would substitute “Ctrl A” for stimulations consisting ofthe mouse clicks, navigation and a request for an IM application. Thesubstitute stimulations would then be reported in step 612 to anoperating system (OS).

In step 616, the OS can determine whether to pass the substitutestimulations to an active software application in operation (e.g., agaming application) and/or to invoke another software application. Theactive software application can be operating from the same computersystem from which the OS and the AMS application operate or can beoperating at a remote system such as an on-line server or family ofservers (e.g., World of Warcraft) awaiting stimulation data from thecomputer system. In this illustration, the macro comprises bothstimulation feedback for the active software application and a requestto initiate an IM session. Accordingly, the OS conveys in step 618 themouse stimulation signals to the active software application (e.g.,gaming application), and in a near simultaneous fashion invokes the IMsession in step 620 with a specific individual (or organization).

Referring back to step 606, the illustrations above cover a scenario inwhich the AMS application has detected an association of actions toaccessory stimuli. If however the AMS application does not detect suchan association, then the detected stimulus (or stimuli) supplied by oneor more accessories is transmitted to the OS in step 614. For example,it may be that a stimulation based on the depressions of “Ctrl A” has noparticular association to an action. In this case, the AMS applicationpasses this stimulation to the OS with no substitutes. In step 616 theOS can determine if this stimulation invokes a new software applicationin step 620 or is conveyed to the previously initiated softwareapplication.

Contemporaneous to the embodiments described above, the AMS applicationcan also record in step 622 statistics relating to the detectedaccessory stimulations. A portion of the AMS application can operate asa background process which performs statistical analysis on thestimulations detected. By selecting button 104 in FIG. 1, the AMSapplication can provide an updated GUI which illustrates the usage ofinput functions of one or more accessories for which stimulations weredetected in step 604. For ease of illustration, only a keyboardaccessory is shown. In this illustration, certain keys (references 204,206 208, 210) on the keyboard are color-coded to illustrate thefrequency of usage of these keys.

A color scale 203 defines the frequency of usage of the input functionsof the keyboard. The first end of the scale (navy blue) represents asingle detected depression, while an opposite end of the scale (brightred) represents 500 detected depressions. Based on this scale, the AMSapplication maps by color in step 624 stimulations of the keyboard. Forexample, the key grouping 208 depict a color coding with the highestdetectable usage, while the F7 key (reference 210) indicates the fewestdepressions. Keys having zero depressions are not color coded to readilyidentify the color mapping of keys which were used at least once.

The AMS application provides additional functions in a playback panel ofthe GUI which can help a user understand how the color coded keys wereused during an active software application such as a video game. In thissection of the GUI, the AMS application can present the user with aplayback control function 202 which the user can select to replay,pause, forward or rewind the usage of these keys. When usage playback isselected, the user can for instance see the color coded keys highlightedin real-time with a temporary white border to visualize how the keyswere selected. A time clock 204 provides the user the elapsed time ofthe playback sequence. Button 212 allows the user to retrieve statisticsfrom other sessions, while button 214 provides the user a means to savestatistics from a given session.

The GUI of FIG. 2 could have been shown as a split screen with allaccessories which generated one or more detected stimulations (e.g.,keyboard, mouse, and microphone), each providing statistical symbolicresults as described above for the keyboard. Although not shown, splitscreen embodiments are contemplated by the present disclosure for theGUI of FIG. 2.

In addition to a symbolic representation as shown in FIG. 2, the AMSapplication can provide the user a means to visualize raw statistics ina table format such as shown in FIG. 3 by selecting button 212. Thetable format shows raw data in section 302 and possible suggestions insection 304 for improving user performance which can be generated by theAMS application in step 626. Section 302 can be presented in a tableformat with a column identifying the key being analyzed, its usage, andnumber of key presses. The user can ascertain from this table the mostand least frequently used keys as well as other identifiable patterns.

The AMS application can utilize an understanding of the layout of theaccessory (in this case, the keyboard) to determine from the statisticsways that the user can improve response time or ergonomic use. Forexample, the AMS application can determine from a layout analysis thatthe key combination <Alt.> can be reassigned to a macro based on thetrigger <Ctrl F> which could provide the user a faster response time andfree up the user's right hand for other tasks. The AMS application canalso provide alternative suggestions. For example, the AMS applicationcan also suggest creating single button macros for each of the keycombinations <Alt.> and <Ctrl A> which can be assigned to keys on thekeyboard or left and right buttons of a mouse. The latter suggestion ofassigning macros to the mouse can help the user free up his/her lefthand.

The AMS application can utilize present and next generation algorithmsto determine how to improve response times and ergonomic usage ofaccessory devices. The AMS application can for example have at itsdisposal an understanding of the layout of each accessory, the type ofsoftware being controlled by the accessory (e.g., World of Warcraft),type of operations commonly used to control the software (e.g., knownactions as shown in the actions column 130 of FIG. 1), an understandingof the associations made by other users (e.g., gamers) to improve theirperformance when controlling the software, and so on. The AMSapplication can also be adapted to communicate with the active softwareapplication by way of an Application Programming Interface (API) toreceive additional usage statistics from the software which it can inturn use to improve the user's performance The AMS application can alsoutilize common statistical and behavior modeling techniques to predictthe behavior of the user and responses from the software application toidentify possible ways to improve the user's performance.

From these illustrations, it would be apparent to an artisan of ordinaryskill in the art that innumerable algorithms can be developed to analyzeaccessory usage and thereby suggest improvements. These undisclosedembodiments are contemplated by the present disclosure.

From the foregoing descriptions, it would be evident to an artisan withordinary skill in the art that the aforementioned embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, method 400 can beadapted to define more than one programmable layer for an accessory.Such a feature can extend the functionality of an accessory intomulti-layer paradigms of input functions. The GUI of FIG. 1 can beadapted so that a user can specify more than one programmable layer fora specific accessory.

The user can also specify which layer to present in FIG. 1 whileassociating actions. If for instance layer 1 is shown, the GUI of FIG. 1can present the actions associated in this layer by presentingdescriptors superimposed on the input functions (e.g., buttons or keys).When the user switches to layer 2 (e.g., by selecting from a drop-downmenu the layer of interest) the accessory can be shown in the GUI with adifferent set of associated actions. The user can define a macro oridentify a key sequence to switch between layers when the accessory isin use.

The trigger for switching between layers can be a toggle function (e.g.,selecting the tab key on a Qwerty keyboard) to switch between layers ina round robin fashion (layer 1→layer 2→layer 3→to layer 1→and so on).Alternatively, the user can define a hold and release trigger to switchbetween layers. In this embodiment, the user moves to another layerwhile pressing a button (e.g., a “Shift” key) and returns to thepreceding layer upon its release. In yet another embodiment, the triggerto switch layers can be defined differently per layer. The user can forexample select the letter “A” in layer 1 to proceed to layer 2, andselect the letter “B” in layer 2 to return to layer 1 or proceed to yetanother layer 3. There can be numerous combinations of layers andtriggers which can be defined to substantially expand the capability ofsingle accessory. Additionally, triggers can be of any kind, tactile,speech, etc.

In another embodiment, method 400 can be adapted so that a user candefine super macros and/or super profiles. A super macro can representnested macros (combinations of macros). Method 400 can be adapted sothat the user can customize the timing for executing nested macros.Similarly, a super profile can represent nested profiles (combinationsof profiles). A super profile can for example comprise sub-profiles,each sub-profile defining associations of actions to input functions ofa particular accessory.

In yet another embodiment, method 400 can be adapted to establish audioprofiles for headset accessories. When a user select a headset accessorysuch as 114, GUI 101 can be adapted to provide the user options toestablish an sound output (equalizer) setting to optimize performancefor a particular gaming application. For instance GUI 101 can present anequalizer so that the user can raise the volume of high frequencies toan enemy's footsteps from a longer distance in a gaming application.

The foregoing embodiments are a subset of possible embodimentscontemplated by the present disclosure. Other suitable modifications canbe applied to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the reader isdirected to the claims for a fuller understanding of the breadth andscope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may include a processor 702 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate with each othervia a bus 708. The computer system 700 may further include a videodisplay unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system700 may include an input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 714 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generationdevice 718 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 720.

The disk drive unit 716 may include a machine-readable medium 722 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 724)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 724may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 704, the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702during execution thereof by the computer system 700. The main memory 704and the processor 702 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 724, or that which receives and executes instructions 724from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 726 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 726 using the instructions 724. Theinstructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a network726 via the network interface device 720.

While the machine-readable medium 722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; andcarrier wave signals such as a signal embodying computer instructions ina transmission medium; and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one ormore of a machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listedherein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, inwhich the software implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: monitoring, by a processingsystem including a processor, use of a game accessory; detecting, by theprocessing system, a group of stimulations of the game accessoryresulting in a group of detected stimulations; recording, by theprocessing system, statistics relating to the group of detectedstimulations; generating, by the processing system, an accessory mapimage, wherein the accessory map image includes an accessory mapoverlaid onto an image of the game accessory, and wherein the accessorymap indicates a frequency usage of the group of detected stimulations ofthe game accessory according to the statistics; and presenting, by theprocessing system, a group of substitute stimulations for a firstportion of the group of detected stimulations to improve userperformance in response to analyzing the accessory map.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the game accessory is one of a keyboard, gaming pad,navigation device, mouse, joystick, microphone, and speech recognitiondevice.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of detectedstimulations correspond to button depressions of the game accessory. 4.The method of claim 1, comprising performing, by the processing system,a statistical analysis of the group of detected stimulations, andwherein the generating the accessory map image comprises generating, bythe processing system, the accessory map according to the statisticalanalysis of the group of detected stimulations.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the accessory map includes a color scale that defines thefrequency of usage of the group of detected stimulations, wherein afirst end of the color scale represents low frequency usage and a secondend of the color scale represents high frequency usage.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, comprising performing, by the processing system, a usageplayback, wherein the usage playback highlights in real-time a secondportion of the group of detected stimulations of the accessory map onthe accessory map image.
 7. The method of claim 1, comprisingpresenting, by the processing system, the statistics in a table, whereinthe table identifies the frequency usage of the group of detectedstimulations.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the group ofsubstitute stimulations comprises: analyzing, by the processing system,a layout of the group of detected stimulations on the game accessory;and identifying, by the processing system, the group of substitutestimulations according to the layout of the group of detectedstimulations of the game accessory.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinimproving user performance comprises improving response time.
 10. Adevice, comprising: a processing system including a processor; and amemory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:monitoring use of a game accessory; detecting a group of stimulationsfrom of the game accessory resulting in a group of detectedstimulations; performing a statistical analysis of the group of detectedstimulations resulting in recording statistics; generating an accessorymap image, wherein the accessory map image includes an accessory mapoverlaid onto an image of the game accessory, and wherein the accessorymap indicates a frequency usage of the group of detected stimulations ofthe game accessory according to the statistics; and presenting a groupof substitute stimulations for a first portion of the group of detectedstimulations to improve user performance in response to analyzing theaccessory map.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the generating theaccessory map image comprises generating the accessory map according tothe statistical analysis of the group of detected stimulations.
 12. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the accessory map includes a color scalethat defines the frequency of usage of the group of detectedstimulations, wherein a first end of the color scale represents lowfrequency usage and a second end of the color scale represents highfrequency usage.
 13. The device of claim 10, wherein the operationscomprise performing a usage playback, wherein the usage playbackhighlights in real-time a second portion of the group of detectedstimulations of the accessory map on the accessory map image.
 14. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the operations comprise presenting thestatistics in a table, wherein the table identifies the frequency usageof the group of detected stimulations.
 15. The device of claim 10,wherein presenting the group of substitute stimulations comprises:analyzing a layout of the group of detected stimulations on the gameaccessory; and identifying the group of substitute stimulationsaccording to the layout of the group of detected stimulations of thegame accessory.
 16. A machine-readable storage medium, comprisingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processing systemincluding a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:detecting a group of stimulations from of a game accessory resulting ina group of detected stimulations; recording statistics relating to thegroup of detected stimulations; generating an accessory map image,wherein the accessory map image includes an accessory map overlaid ontoan image of the game accessory, and wherein the accessory map indicatesa frequency usage of the group of detected stimulations of the gameaccessory according to statistics; and performing a usage playback,wherein the usage playback highlights in real-time a first portion ofthe group of detected stimulations of the accessory map on the accessorymap image.
 17. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, whereinthe generating the accessory map image comprises generating theaccessory map according to an analysis of the statistics related togroup of detected stimulations.
 18. The machine-readable storage mediumof claim 16, wherein the accessory map includes a color scale thatdefines the frequency of usage of the group of detected stimulations,wherein a first end of the color scale represents low frequency usageand a second end of the color scale represents high frequency usage. 19.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein performing theusage playback comprises presenting a group of substitute stimulationsfor a second portion of the group of detected stimulations to improveuser performance in response to analyzing the accessory map.
 20. Themachine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein presenting thegroup of substitute stimulations comprises: analyzing a layout of thegroup of detected stimulations on the game accessory; and identifyingthe group of substitute stimulations according to the layout of thegroup of detected stimulations of the game accessory.